Aftermath
by Mikaehl
Summary: The Crucible has fired, the reapers are dead. But how does a galaxy without its main means of transport survive the fallout?
1. Chapter 1

_While many of my fellow authors take time to rewrite the ending to Mass Effect 3, or suppose it was all a dream, having played through ME3 four different times now, taking time to do every side quest and study every choice in the game, I think I've come to be pretty satisfied with how the ending of the game goes, with some obvious plot holes and/or points that weren't really thought important. _

_My story picks up at the end of the Mass Effect 3 game, assuming a Paragon player and 5k+ war assets. This is more about the aftermath than anything else, so I'll try to make it interesting. I welcome any and all comments and feedback. _

_Also, though I played with my own custom name and all, I'll substitute the generic for ease of reference, though my character will be most decidedly Male. _

_Update 2: This is a rewrite of the story to better fit with the extended cut ending, and to polish up my own so-so writing, I hope. Again, your feedback is greatly appreciated._

Even before he could open his eyes, John felt the burn of the acrid stench of ozone and burning materials, their overwhelming foul odors stifling his breaths and sending him into spasms of coughs. With every breath he fought to take in enough clean air to ward off the growing throb of his body, though it refused to move at his command. Several bones were broken, judging by the pain that shot through him every time he attempted a movement, and the burning in his stomach reminded him that the hole there was real, and not simply a dream.

A sense of fear and dread washed over him as he tried to relax, trying to place where he was. He remembered earth, remembered rushing forward towards the beam, but after that, his mind grew hazy and the memories only came with washes of pain and nausea that discouraged him from thinking on it too hard. _Where am I? What is this place? _

Beneath his body and torn armor, he felt the sharp edges and jabs of broken plasteel and ceramic materials, and the weight crossing his numb legs told him he was pinned by something. His whole body felt cold, and as his body shivered, growing cold, the pain sparked through him like bolts of electricity from a live wire.

With a groan, he tried again to move, to turn his head, to do something. With relief, he managed to opened his eyes, but immediately wished he hadn't for the wave of nausea and sharp stab of pain that invaded his mind. From somewhere behind him, he thought he heard the sound of metal beams collapsing, and the curses of some being. _An Enemy? God, I'm trapped here and someone's coming._ "Commander, are you in here? Anyone alive in here?"

The male voice bellowing into the chamber was not altered and synthetic like those he'd heard from the Cerberus shock troopers. And it sounded human. Wherever he was, at least there were humans here, too. The creak and groan of more debris shifting under weight could be heard, along with the shuddering shriek of metal moving in ways it wasn't very happy to go.

John';s eyes darted around, fixing on various points. He could see beyond his head a blackened bulkhead, and part of a large open starscape, debris floating serenely as though drifting in a timeless ocean. He recognized the large petal-like pieces floating so close. _The Citadel! _That was it, he was on the Citadel! But why had he been there? His vision filled with the sealed breathing mask of standard Marine armor, the sounds of the man's air processing system hissing and blowing jets of warmth into his face. The grey eyes behind the mask studied him before taking a light and moving it before his eyes.

The shock of light pained him, set his head on fire as though someone had hit him with a brick. He flinched, turning away from the light, rewarded with the dull ache and pain that told him that his wounds were fairly fresh, and that jerking anything around wasn't a good idea. "Commander! Can you hear me? Hey, someone get a litter over here. I need a medic, right now!"

Those words, those simple words, sent a rush of relief through him, though his mind remained foggy and he didn't grasp quite why it did. "Wh...what..." he managed to croak out.

"Sir, we're going to get you out of here. The fight is over sir, you did it! We're getting everyone off the citadel now, but we've got to get you looked at. Don't try to move, this beam on top of you could shift at any minute and you might end up half the man you were."

Trying to absorb all this, his mind flashed back, the image of a child, like a hologram. Something about the reapers...he was doing something...he remembered shooting...with a sudden sharp pain, he felt himself slipping back into the darkness, the void enveloping him.

"Look, Doctor, I don't mean to pry, but that man is probably the most important man in the alliance right now. We've already got infighting and arguments going on, demanding answers on exactly how that man saved everyone's asses," Admiral Hackett said, his eyes fixed on the face of the young female physician that stood between him and John Shephard's room.

Dr. Michel shook her head. "I'm afraid that ten days is just not enough. The man has had severe trauma to his body, and even the implants he carries are struggling to keep him alive. He has lost a lot of blood. He needs his rest. We are doing everything we can, but without more information, without experts, we're not even sure that the implants that keep some of his vital systems alive will continue to function."

Hackett growled and shook his head. "Doctor, you tell me exactly what you need, and I promise you I'll get whatever resources I can muster. But that man needs the best. I don't want him dead because we didn't try."

Dr. Michel nodded. "I owe that man my life, probably, twice over. I am doing all that I can, but without more, I cannot guarantee-"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, Doctor." A female voice said from the entrance to the infirmary section. "I made my way here as soon as I found out what had happened, though I admit I had a bloody impossible time finding this place."

Hackett turned to see the raven haired Miranda Lawson striding confidently towards them. Her features seemed haggard and worn; although given what Shephard had reported happening on Sanctuary, he wasn't surprised. "Ms. Lawson, I'm afraid this isn't-"

"Admiral, my team and I at Cerberus rebuilt that man. I know every detail and every implant he has. If anyone can help your young doctor, it's me."

Dr. Michel nodded. "I remember reading about the miraculous treatments you used to bring his body back to life. If you believe you can help him, then I would be most grateful."

Miranda nodded. "Your infirmary looks advanced enough, Doctor. I'm pleasantly surprised to see it didn't get destroyed during the fighting."

Hackett had to agree. The base was one of the last few complexes the Alliance Military had left that had escaped the fighting. Buried deep within the Himalayas, the facility was deep underground and isolated, a research and development base used by the military's scientists and home to the initial stages of the Crucible project. "Ms. Lawson, I am having the very same engineers and scientists that worked on the Crucible recalled here to begin research and development to help us replace what we've lost. I'll see to it that any equipment we can scrounge and medical equipment or resources you require are sent here."

Miranda turned to look Hackett in the eye. "Did the Cerberus facility survive? I had heard that Shephard and the Alliance seized it."

"The Facility survived, but it was heavily damaged. What do you need from there?"

"There are no doubt stored records of our project to bring Shephard back to life. I'm going to need everything we can find in order to repair the damage. Also, I'm going to need any specialists on microcybernetics and nanotechnologies sent here right away. Now, Dr. Michel, can I see our patient's chart?"

Dr. Michel nodded and handed over a data pad displaying a layered view of Shephard's body and lists of injuries and vital statistics. "These look promising. By these numbers, the basic devices are still functional. We'll have to run diagnostics on them and initiate their self-repair routines, but that's not too difficult."

Admiral Hackett clenched and unclenched his fists. Once again he found himself unable to do much more than play a backseat role as other people's lives hung in the balance. He turned away from then, looking out of a window with a holographically-simulated nature scene, giving the underground facility the appearance of being somewhere lush and tropical. He turned back to the two doctors and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Ten days later and this hasn't gotten any easier. Dr. Michel, please alert me if his condition changes at all. Ms. Lawson-"

"Uhm, that's Dr. Lawson, actually." Miranda corrected him.

"Dr. Lawson, I'll have everything I can send coming your way. Now, I presume that you'll have work to do and I'm in the way."

The doctors both smiled apologetically and nodded. "Don't worry, Admiral, we'll see that everything is done."

"No, Primarch, I don't have any word other than that Shephard's alive. We've got ground teams scouring for survivors from that battle, the same as they're looking all over earth for any survivors. If Garrus is alive down there, we'll find him." Hackett said wearily. He sat back in the chair behind his stateroom desk and nodded reassuringly to the Turian.

"You'll forgive my pessimism, but to the Turians, Garrus Vakarian is just as important as Commander Shephard. The entire team that accompanied Commander Shephard are heroes and we owe it to them to find them and do what we can, if they're still alive."

"All of the crew that weren't accompanying Shephard were on the Normandy when we ordered all the ships out of the system. We're trying to track down their trajectory through the various navigation and communication arrays we have, but it's proving difficult with the relays offline. If the ship survived, it will have activated its automatic FTL transponders and the beacon installed as part of the quantum entanglement system. Our own quantum systems were heavily damaged during the attack, so anything longer-range than ship to ship is out of the picture right now."

"Well, the good news is that you have a fleet of usable ships and brilliant minds still capable of helping rebuild in the aftermath. I have also already spoken with the Asari and Salarian councilor. They are equally concerned that with all of our forces being so badly decimated by this war, we find a way to continue the Alliance between all of our races. It is important that we protect the weak worlds and bring needed supplies to those worlds."

"I have talked with the other senior officers of the Alliance – the most senior officials left representing earth with the destruction of the Parliament – and we're more than willing to agree with any reasonable agreements to extend forces and support to other members of the alliance. Your races helped Earth when it was most needed, and we owe it to you to return the favor."

Pirimarch Victus nodded. "We appreciate everything that Earth did on behalf of our worlds to allow us to make the sacrifices necessary for yours. I don't think anyone will argue that Earth sacrificed greatly to save all of us, and I don't see any reason why a true alliance between our people is impossible."

A new window appeared on the display of Hackett's control panel and he frowned, peering at it. "Primarch, the Asari representative would like to speak with me. May I have her join this call?"

The Primarch showed a look that seemed surprised, and then nodded. "Of course, Admiral."

Hackett wasn't a politician and playing the game of politician was worse than waiting for the arrival of the Reapers. He'd believed Shephard ever since his first reports of his findings came across his desk. Now, however, he'd inherited the duty of representing Earth as a senior official, and he could understand Victus' own discomfort at being thrust into the world of politics straight from the battlefield. He tapped a control and activated a second display showing the lithe, shapely form of the Asari councilor. "Madam Councilor. What can I do for you?"

"Admiral, Primarch. I wished to extend the thanks and support of the Asari people to Earth for their invaluable efforts to save all life in this galaxy. We feel that it is most important-"

Hackett held up a hand, cutting her off. "Primarch Victus and I were discussing that, Councilor, and you can count on the support of Earth to aid in security and cleanup, and a full participation in a unified Alliance between our peoples."

The Asari looked as though a great amount of her anxiety had been lifted from her shoulders. "Well, then, I am pleased to hear that. Surviving members of our culture spread across many of the worlds have reported in that situations on many planets are deteriorating, and without a strong central government that can provide leadership, I'm afraid what wasn't lost to the reapers will, for many, be lost to infighting and outright civil war."

Hackett stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed. That was grim news indeed, if accurate, since without the relays, travel time between stars no more than a few hours apart before now stretched into the weeks at the fastest speeds their ships could muster unaided. Getting forces out to planets that broke out into war would be far from certain to arrive in time to prevent a war, or worse. Races that lost much of their planetary resources or saw their worlds damaged beyond habitability would find themselves looking to their neighbors as a solution, and attempted colonization would turn ugly if not handled properly.

"We've opened our world to the Quarians and Asari for permanent habitation, and are working with the Quarians to begin identifying areas that meet their needs for food production and settlement until we're able to reactivate the relays, but it's still early and we're still picking up the pieces."

Primarch Victus nodded. "I've had word from Palaven that the damage is severe. Systems necessary for processing waste and food are heavily damaged and it will be some time before we can support the full population of Turians. I've spoken to Urdnot Wrex, and things are stretching thin with the cohabitation of Turian and Krogan now that the war is over. Several flotillas of Krogan ships have left for Tuchanka, and are reporting an estimate of 3 months travel time at their fastest speeds. Wrex is, however, offering to allow Turians to settle in parts of Tuchanka until we can reestablish all of the necessary services on our world."

"All species that are members of our Alliance are welcome to settle on Earth for the short term or long term. I have no problems with sharing our resources since we're going to need everything we can get to rebuild." Hackett said, standing and walking over to a small cabinet. He removed a bottle of scotch and poured himself a glass, then returned to his chair and sank into it.

The Asari nodded. He noticed the lines on her blue face, clear even in the holographic representation, and the fatigue that plagued her eyes. "It's only been ten days, Councilors, and we're going to be shaken up for a while. All we can do is rebuild and try to put the pieces back together now that Shephard's done his part."

"I agree, Admiral. We all appreciate what the Humans have offered to do now that this war is over, and it is clear to everyone that without such an intimate knowledge of Humans, we sorely misjudged your species. I promise you that the Council will begin immediately trying to work out the arrangements to formalize an alliance." The Asari said, smiling softly.

Hackett nodded. Primarch Victus leaned forward, his arms resting on the edge of a desk Hackett couldn't see. "For now, Admiral, we'd like to ask you to take command of the combined fleet. We'll need to begin working on repair facilities and do whatever we can to prepare aid and security forces. I trust you're already working on the Relay problem?"

"I've recalled and settled a facility with the direction to begin developing better travel systems and figure out how to get the Relays working again. The Prothean archives we were working with before the invasion contained the research data they collected on the Relays. Since they were able to replicate the Relays and create the Conduit, I'm hopeful that we can pick up where they left off."

"Understood. Thank you again for listening to us, Admiral. Let's have a drink sometime when it's less formal." Victus said, nodding in respect.

Admiral Hackett sat at attention and nodded. "Will do, Primarch. Hackett out."

He touched a control on his console and disconnected the conference. Rubbing his eyes, he sank down, feeling the weight of a galaxy suddenly pressing down on him again. His eyes drooped from fatigue, though he felt as though he had barely begun working. He picked up a data pad showing reports of ship status and rescue efforts, scrolling through them.

With a long sigh, he tossed the pad back onto his desk and stood, pulling off his jacket. He just couldn't work, suddenly both tired and relieved that the worst decisions and problems he faced was with the continued survival of and rebirth of galactic commerce and safety, not an alien threat that could wipe them all out with a thought. He threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes, dropping off into fitful sleep.

_John looked around himself and saw the forest of shadowy trees, figures of men and women no more than wisps on the breeze that circulated between the trunks, moving branches in silent undulations. He frowned, recognizing the landscape as the dreams that had plagued him during the long months he'd worked to stop the reapers. Ahead of him, he saw the outline of the same little boy. "I destroyed you. You and all of the Reapers." _

_The boy nodded. "Yes. We are gone. Your choice was not unexpected, but it was disappointing that you would not see reason."_

"_Your reasoning is based on your own fear. You feared destruction at the hands of synthetics so much that your own race created synthetic masters to prevent such a future. The irony of that certainly can't be lost on you."_

"_It is an inevitability that synthetic life will destroy organic."_

"_The Geth only fought their creators because their creators feared what they had become and acted irrationally. If Organics recognize sentience and accept that synthetics are no different than Organics, with the same rights and respect, then the outcome may be far different than you think." John said, shaking his head. Was he still here? Stuck on the Citadel with a Reaper in his mind? _

"_What you propose is possible, but it represents chaos. The outcome is uncertain. We have observed what happens when Synthetic life becomes greater than Organic life, and thus the cycle was created."_

"_You'll just have to accept that Organics don't like to be told what to do, or to willingly die for an abstract cycle that is based on the fears of another species. Life is chaos. It always has been, and control is just an illusion. Order is an illusion. We will make our own mistakes, and we will fight our own fights. We don't need anyone to play god and take that decision away from us. We embrace chaos and we embrace the struggle against it."_

"_Then you will lose."_

"_But we won against you. We stopped you. Millions of years of intelligent life working together to stop the cycle imposed on us out of fear. We won't give up without a fight."_

"_So you have shown us. We underestimated the will of Organics to win, and we lost because of that. The Crucible showed us that Organic life could not be contained and shaped any longer."_

"_So what are you? Is this a dream? Am I being indoctrinated and is all of this in my head?"_

"_No. You will remember in time what happened, but you destroyed us. I am merely a memory, a dream imprinted on your mind to serve as a warning in case we failed and were destroyed. You bear the burden of saving Organic life, but you also bear the burden of knowing that the chaos that follows will have been your doing."_

"_I will gladly accept that burden. Now get out of my head."_

John groaned and opened his eyes. They felt heavy, and the pain returned as he found himself staring up at a metal plate ceiling. He frowned slightly in confusion. He had just been…there had been a Marine over him. He remembered that. Was he still there? Where was the Marine?

"Well look who's awake." A gentle feminine voice said as a face leaned into his line of view.

The face was familiar but his vision blurred. He licked his dry, cracking lips and spoke in a hoarse voice. "Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital, John. I'm surprised that you're even awake, actually. The damage to your body was, once again, extensive." Miranda said, straightening up, crossing her arms. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her Cerberus uniform replaced by a doctor's coat and simple slacks.

"How long have I been out?" John managed to croak.

"The better part of 3 months now, John. Your body took quite a beating and you needed rest. I daresay you earned it." Miranda smiled.

John had to smile back, though he felt weak and out of sorts. He'd only ever seen her with tension and stress covering her features. Now she looked serene, relaxed. He thought back, remembering the last time he'd seen her. She had killed her father, saving her sister and stopping one of Cerberus's most powerful supporters in the process. "You look good, Miranda. How'd you get here? Where is here?"

"You're on Earth, in an Alliance hospital. I've been put in charge of your care, and believe me, you're lucky I had come to see if I could be useful to the Crucible project after getting Oriana to somewhere safe. You truly were badly hurt, John."

"Well, you pulled my ass back from the brink of death once, Miranda, if anyone could save me, you can."

"Sweet talker." She said, smiling again. "Believe me, you've got a long way to go."

She leaned down and, in an uncharacteristically personal fashion, kissed his forehead. She straightened and turned to leave the room. "Oh, you might want to know, I heard from Admiral Hackett. The Normandy and her crew are alive. They crash-landed on a planet about two months' travel from here and are making repairs."

John closed his eyes and visibly relaxed. He hadn't know that they'd been in danger, but then, he still didn't remember the details of everything that had happened on the Citadel or the events following. He heard the telltale noise of a Geth and slowly turned his head. "A Geth? I thought the blast from the Crucible destroyed all synthetic life?"

"Shephard-Commander. It is good to see that you are still with us. When the Geth were joined with the Old Machines, we were privy to their own analysis of the Crucible and its function. It was not unknown to them. When we were freed of their control and were allowed to join the work on this device, we made the necessary modifications to target the Old Machines specifically. We could not allow them to terminate more life in their bid to control the decisions of Organics."

Shephard nodded. Logical. The Geth had been the closest to the Reapers, linked to their consciousness and, presumably, the control of the Citadel and its own AI, giving them insight he had wished he'd thought to consult before initiating the last battle.

So many questions flooded his mind then, concern for his crew and those he loved flooding him along with a wonder of what would happen now. The feelings overwhelmed him, and he closed his eyes as the room began to spin. "I think I need to sleep some more."

Miranda nodded. "Your body is weak, John, and you'll need to rest as much as you can. I'm afraid that things aren't perfect, and we'll need your strength before this is all over. But for now, we need to get you mended."

John closed his eyes after seeing hers. There was something there that had never been there before: hope.


	2. Chapter 2

Ashley Williams groaned and awoke from where she lay on the slab of concrete and looked over to see Garrus perched on a window ledge, looking out over the ruin of Vancouver. "Anything?"

"A few shuttles, but I haven't been able to raise them." Garrus replied, looking down at the communications unit he held in his hand.

"They have to know we're here, right?" Ash asked, rubbing her head.

Garrus shook his head. "I don't know."

He thought back to the moments before they had charged the beam, the platoon of men lead by Shepard and Admiral Anderson struck down in wave after wave of blistering energy hurled at them by Harbinger's angry red eye. He had watched as two of the MAKOs had been vaporized, bodies cast aside. He had watched in horror as the final beam came for him and had only enough time to push Ashley down behind the hulk of one of the vehicles before it had hit, sending him flying into a pile of rubble.

When he had come to, he found Ashley above him, firing as Husks closed in, their moaning, wraith-like forms the stuff of nightmares. She had told him that Shephard had made it to the beam, though none of the rest of the Alliance soldiers knew. She had tried to raise them, but the commander in their section ordered the troops to pull back and regroup. Getting Garrus up, they had made their way back to the rendezvous point, one shuttle remaining.

Garrus could still hear the words of the shuttle pilot, the hope and fear almost tangible in his voice. "Did anyone make it? Did Shephard get to the beam?"

He had nodded, ordering the young pilot to alert command that Shephard had made it to the beam. Sealing the shuttle, they had begun to rise when the echoing roar of a pack of Harvesters caught up to them, the beasts flying into and downing the shuttles as they tried to break free and make for a safe altitude. Their shuttle had dodged and dove, driving further and further from the beam before finally they had been caught, the engines damaged, and forced to land, surrounded by Reaper troops.

The shuttle pilot had come with them, though a Banshee had appeared, tearing the man to shreds. Garrus had fired until his weapon overheated, destroying the kinetic cycling coil. Ashley threw a grenade at the monster and grabbed Garrus, dragging him into a building that still seemed mostly intact, sealing the door behind them by disabling the door controls.

They had moved after the Crucible fired, destroying the Reapers and their ground troops, working their way towards any active Alliance command. Ashley had found that their erratic shuttle flite had taken them more than ninety kilometers from where command would think to look, and so they had begun making their way back in hopes that search parties would be looking for survivors in the aftermath.

After ten days of making their way through the rubble and destruction, they had come to within twenty kilometers, the pillars that had surrounded the beam visible in the distance over the desolate field. "They have had shuttles moving in and around the city all morning. I think the fleet has finally made it back and has gotten organized enough to begin searching for survivors." Garrus said, looking back at Ashley.

She groaned and sat up, stretching, trying to work the kinks from her back. "God, what I wouldn't give for a nice hot shower right now."

Garrus shook his head. "I'm just glad we found a way to stop these things. They'll find us eventually and we'll get out of here."

"Maybe if we can find a MAKO with a functioning comm unit we can flag one of those shuttles."

Garrus nodded. His own communication unit had burned out when he'd struck a bulkhead in the shuttle on its way down. Ashley had tried hers, only to find the power cell low, the transmission range weak.

"I think if we make our way closer to the sight your comlink should get a signal through to the shuttles."

"You know, I learned when I was a kid that if you were lost, you could build a signal fire-"

"Ashley, with all of the smoke and fire left from the fighting, I doubt anyone would see it and be able to tell the difference. Besides, I've watched their flight paths. They're working outwards from the center of the city. If we can make another five kilometers today, and another tomorrow, we'll have a much better chance of being somewhere they can spot."

Ashley sighed. "Well, I guess we'll keep searching everything we come across as we go. Hopefully we'll find a working radio."

Garrus nodded and turned back to the window, watching as the sky lightened with the dawn. He reached back and picked up the supply pack they had taken off of a fallen marine and slung it on. He then crossed to where Ashley lay and crouched down, looking at the burned skin on her leg, checking it with his omnitool for signs of infection. "We're going to have to look for more medigel. This is getting infected and it could get bad."

Ashley nodded and stood, testing her leg. "It doesn't hurt much. I can keep going."

"We'll find some fresh water and wash it out. We've got one charge of medigel left, and we'll apply it after we clean it up."

They made their way through the rubble-strewn streets, stopping every time they saw intact buildings or homes to check for survivors. So far they hadn't found any, though they had found stores of medical supplies and working weapons. They finally found themselves entering an area that looked as though it had seen some fighting, the burned out wrecks of ground vehicles and the charred remains of combatants littering the streets.

Ahead of them, they saw an overturned MAKO blocking the road. The hull appeared mostly intact, though its cab was bent and crushed by the force of whatever had thrown it over. Garrus moved closer to the vehicle and ducked down, looking in one of the cockpit windows. The dash showed emergency lights glowing, and the crackle of a comlink giving him a burst of hope. "Looks like this one still has some power and a working comlink."

"Yeah, but the antenna's busted off. Not sure what kind of range we'll get with it."

"Lets look around, maybe we can salvage an antenna off of one of the others and patch it together."

"Good idea."

They made their way gingerly over more piles of rubble, avoiding the dead as they passed. Twisted barricades and burned out portable shelters littered the open spaces of the streets as they passed, marking the damage that had been done. Garrus touched his omnitool and brought it to life, using it to scan the area. "No survivors. Looks like this was the fallback point to keep the city contained. Get the civilians out, keep the Reapers in."

Ashley nodded, her face growing a bit pale as she took in the devastation. Fighting her way through the warzone had been difficult enough for her, every step in a sight of what they fought for, and the losses they had already sustained. Now that she was walking through the empty streets, nothing left but death and destruction, she felt the press of death, as though somehow she was a stranger intruding on a grave. "I'm not sure we'll ever recover from this."

"The destruction on Palaven was much worse. Whole cities razed to nothing. But we will rebuild. Shephard fought to give us that chance."

Ashley nodded. "At least we're here to tell about it."

Garrus nodded. "Stories for our grand children, when the universe united to avert destruction."

They kept walking, finally finding a ground vehicle that appeared to have an undamaged antenna array. Garrus set to work stripping the relevant parts from the machine, breaking them down as quickly as he was able. As he worked, he inspected every piece and part, checking for damage that would make it unworkable. Finally, he said "Looks like we've got a working assembly. We should be able to patch it in to the other vehicle and be good to go."

Ashley nodded, then moved to pry open the hatch to the vehicle's main compartment. She flinched, first at the smell and then the sight of the burned remains that greeted her within. She covered her face and lowered herself behind the gunner's chair, pulling open the storage compartment. She withdrew a case containing pistols, and another containing spare thermal clips and medigel. "Well, at least the med kit is intact."

"Good, pack it up." Garrus said, finishing loading the parts into his pack, strapping the antenna mast to the outside.

"Are you soldiers? Is it really over? Have they gone?"

Garrus turned to see a young girl, her clothing ripped, her face dirty, standing at the corner of the vehicle. "Come here, sweety. Yes, it's over. No one else is here to hurt you."

The girl shrank back. "My momma, where's my momma?"

Garrus slowly moved closer and knelt down. "We'll find her. Come here and let me make sure you're okay."

Ashley looked out of the cockpit and then stepped down. "Garrus, where did she-"

"Not now, Ash, the girl's hurt."

The young girl stepped out, then limped forward, her leg caked with dried blood. Ashley lowered herself down and took out the med kit she'd liberated from the vehicle. The girl sniffled. "My mom, she's gone, I can't find her!" The girl wailed.

Garrus closed on her and wrapped her in his arms, looking at her leg. "Ash, let's get her somewhere safe. We need to clean up this leg."

Ashley nodded and activated her omnitool, scanning the nearby buildings. "There, that building looks like it's still got some power going to it. Probably some running water, too."

Garrus nodded and hefted the girl, "Come on, sweety, let's get you cleaned up."

"But what about my momma?"

"We'll find her, baby." Ashley said, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

The building indicated was a squat structure, its bunker-like features obscured by the piles of rubble heaped upon it by the collapse of the surrounding structures. They found the door partially obstructed, a heavy slab of concrete lying precariously over the alcove that housed it. As they approached, the door controls flickered dimly, the display showing clear that the door's lock had been engaged.

Garrus passed the girl to Ashley, who took her into her arms and held her. Garrus moved forward and pressed his omnitool against the lock, activating its override sequence, attempting to force the lock. The display flickered again, then fell quiet, the slight hiss of a lock disengaging audible from overhead, the door opening only a few centimeters before stalling. Garrus forced his leg and arm between the door's leaves, pushing as hard as he could to force the doors. Slowly the door gave way, parting wide enough to allow them to enter.

Inside, the lights flickered as they attempted to come to life. Computer terminals flickered in offices to each side of the main corridor, the air stifling. "Looks like a security office. There should be a med station towards the back." Ashley said, setting her pack down against the wall.

Garrus nodded and set his own pack down, searching the offices for signs of life, moving towards the back of the station. "They might have communications equipment here, too."

He found the medical room and called to Ashley. They placed the child on the medical scanning bed, and he activated the scanner. "Ashley, see what you can do about the power. I'll see what I can do for our young friend."

"I may have to take the power offline to fix it."

Garrus nodded. "Do what you need to do. We'll be fine up here."

Ashley nodded and disappeared from the door. Garrus opened a cabinet and removed a disinfectant solution and a cloth from a stack. He turned to the girl and met her gaze. "I'm going to clean this up. It might hurt a bit."

Ashley found the electrical supply room and forced the door open, muttering as the lights in the basement flickered out once more. Inside, found her own weapon light and flicked it on, scanning the darkened control panels and power shunts that controlled power distribution. Following the lines from where they met control panels back to a main service control, she inspected the box, finding it charred from an apparent overload.

She set the light down and turned, locating the main breaker control to shut off the main power feed. She paused, then pulled open the box and reached in to begin to disconnect the lines from their main control boards. As she did, half the lines disintegrated in her hands, the graphite nanofilament lines turning to a fine dust. "Dammit." She cursed, under her breath.

Looking around the room, she spotted a service bin. She opened the bin and began to sift through the sealed packages, pulling out what she thought she might need. She returned to the box and began to sort out the mess, pulling out the charred remains of boards and wiring. Once she'd cleared the damaged components, she began stripping open packages, installing replacement components one at a time until she had replaced everything that appeared damaged.

Stepping back, she reached over and put her hand on the breaker control, pausing for a moment to pray. She flipped the switch to bring the power back online. The lights flickered, then blazed to life, the sounds of the computers and machinery coming to life. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief and closed the cover to the box and switched off her light.

She stepped out and ran up the stairs, following the sound of Garrus' voice. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're here to make sure this little girl's injuries are treated."

"You aliens brought this on us. Brought the destruction of Earth by those _things!_"

Ashley drew the pistol from her side and peered around the doorframe. Garrus stood, the little girl behind him, while two men and a woman, their clothes tattered and, makeshift armor covering their bodies. Their rifles were trained on Garrus, whose arms were spread.

She stepped into the doorway, her pistol trained, and growled quietly. "Lower your weapons, no one's here to hurt you."

The woman turned, startled, and swung her rifle to face Ashley. "A human? Defending an alien? How do we know this isn't some sort of trick? How do we know they won't just turn on us now that their own asses are saved?"

"This man helped save all of us, and stood by Commander Shepard even when most humans wouldn't. He went to hell and back for Human colonies. Now if you don't lower that weapon I'll put a bullet through your skull." Ashley said, gritting her teeth, the thought of Shepard and Garrus and what they had done for the galaxy causing her stomach to knot.

The woman, her eyes hopeful but cautious, slowly lowered her weapon. "I'm sorry. George, Tama, lower your weapons. We've been holed up in the basement of one of those old buildings across the streeth for the past month. The Alliance Security Forces gave us weapons and supplies, but when they were moved out, they said they couldn't evacuate us, that we were on the list and would be safe until help arrived. You're the first we've seen out here, and it's been rough. We've got old and infirm people from the hospital, and we've got women and children. This little girl is one of the orphans. When she wandered off, we had to go looking for her. There's been looting and some of the others in this section of the city have taken control as a gang, imposing their own brand of martial law in the absence of any real security or government."

Ashley nodded and put away her pistol. "We've been working on getting word to the rescue transports searching the inner city. Our comlinks are fried, but we figured this place might have one."

Garrus held up a hand. "Where are these people? Are any of the injured?"

Tama, a short, older Asian man nodded. "We lost about 12 to injuries or those things. We barely have food, some of them are starving."

Ashley touched Garrus's shoulder. "I'll go take a look. Why don't you look for the communications room and see if you can raise someone from the Alliance."

Garrus nodded and squeezed the little girl's hand. "You should go with Ashley. She'll keep you safe."

"Nuh-uh, I don't wanna go back there. I wanna stay here with you!"

Ashley smiled. "Well, Garrus, looks like you've got a friend."

He chuckled and hefted the girl up. "Alright, come with me, and we'll see about making that call."

Ashley followed the three refugees through the rubble piles, ducking through half-buried doorways until they came upon a well-hidden stairwell, rubble and structural supports covering most but the smallest of holes into the black void. The three refugees lowered themselves one by one through the hole, disappearing as though gone into the blackest abyss.

She followed them through, descending the stairs gingerly. Near the bottom, one of the refugees palmed a panel, bringing the stairs' built-in lighting up to illuminate a door. Tama, who was in the lead, touched the access panel and waited for the door to slide open. The inside of the basement was dank, hot, and smelled of sweat and sewage. What little light there was came from a few small overhead lights that the refugees had salvaged from surrounding buildings, and from small personal lanterns that flickered in dimly lit corners. Cots lined the walls, and faces of the young, old, and infirm peered at her from out of the shadows like so many mice eying a cat.

She activated her omnitool's light and shone it around to get a better look and found what must have passed for an infirmary. Far from even the most bleak of battlefield hospitals, this infirmary consisted of cots with piles of linens piled next to them on a small makeshift table. Fresh water flowed from a broken pipe into a barrel made into a makeshift cistern, and one single med pack lay open, empty tubes of medigel piled on top of the caved in wall that served as the back of the bunker.

One lone form lay on a cot, dirty, her leg shredded, the bone protruding from the skin, the skin blackened around the wound. Moving over to her, the rank smell of decay hit her nose and she fought back the urge to gag, covering her mouth with her free hand. She activated the medical scanner built into her omnitool and ran it along the leg before noticing that the patient's eyes were open and clouded. She stepped back, deactivating the scanner, and turned to the three who had escorted her. "We'll get you out of here as soon as we can. We've got a working radio in one of the vehicles if not in that security station, and we'll have rescue and medical personnel here as quickly as possible."

Her eyes were wet, and she pushed as much conviction into her voice as possible. The others nodded. An old woman, draped in a shawl and clutching close an old and tattered copy of the bible smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "We knew you'd come."

Garrus ran his hands over the console, tapping keys, attempting to activate the communications system. Each time he ran through the sequence, the computer reported a failure of the main array. He pounded his fist on the desk and stood, rounding the console bank to open the main communications access panel. Finding no damage inside, he closed it and turned, heading out towards the roof access.

The roof access hatch opened surprisingly freely, the hatch port sheltered from the pile of debris. Garrus lifted himself from the ladder and stood, looking around for a moment at the city lit by the midday sun. He could see a park, surrounded by the ruins of death, a single tree growing in the middle of it. The beauty of that sight struck him then and he reached up to wipe his face.

"It's like a symbol of our miracle, the hopes and prayers of every species in this galaxy met with a singular blessing that saved us all, and now life grows back from the devastation." Ashley said, coming up beside him.

"I didn't see you get back."

"We've got a lot of wounded in that bunker, and no medicine or hope to care for them on our own. They've been there for over a month and there's hardly any food that hasn't been scrounged already to keep them going. We've got to get a shuttle in here."

"Communication system's not responding, says the uplink array is jammed and there's no damage in the electronics that control initialization."

"Well, then I guess we had best locate the collective up here and unjam it."

Garrus nodded and turned, searching for the spherical collective that housed the FTL radio arrays. Beyond the protection of the roof-mounted sensor towers, air exchange units and environmental control units lay twisted and blackened from the assault they had undoubtedly taken.

He saw the large metal ball housing the collective in a corner and began to make his way to it. It had remained surprisingly intact, metal structural supports around it bent and twisted, but doing their designed job to keep the collective from being harmed. As he circled it, he noticed that one of the stabilization arms had broken free and wedged itself against the sphere, indenting the surface where it had landed.

"See if you can find some kind of bar we can use to pry this off. Once it's free we can inspect the electronics inside. I just hope it's not damaged." Garrus said, trying to pull the arm away from where it had landed with little success.

Ashley nodded, turning to two of the larger men that had joined her from the shelter. "We've got to get that ball repaired if we have any chance of getting word out to the rescue shuttles."

One of the men stepped forward and raised a hand. "I'm an electronics tech. I worked in one of the utility offices before the attack. Maybe I can help."

Garrus nodded. "What's your name?"

"Jake. Jake Geary."

"Alright, Jake, why don't you give me a hand. You probably know more about these systems than I do."

"You said that the uplink array was jammed? Maybe we can bypass it and tie in the uplink with one of the secondary downlinks."

Garrus nodded, his mandibles twitching a bit. "Sounds like it should work."

The man stepped over to look more closely at the sphere, then back at Garrus. "Where did you say you saw those shuttles?"

"Towards the heart of the city, where the beam was."

"Okay, maybe we don't need to get this apart, since we know roughly the direction we need to go. If we can figure out where the collective stopped, we can override the system and send a directional signal. Then all we have to do is aim it generally at those shuttles' location and they should pick it up."

"How narrow of a signal are we talking about?"

"Well, in one direction, it should paint a fort-five degree arc, maybe thirty degrees wide. Depending on how far, that's a fairly wide zone."

Ashley and the two other men showed up, holding conduit they had liberated from one of the destroyed environmental units.

"What do you need to do to set it up?" Garrus asked, looking at Jake.

"Well, maybe an hour? First we have to get the traversal motor disconnected so it doesn't try to spin up the array. That's what's shutting us down. Then I'll have to check the electronics…" Jake had already sunken to his knees and crawled into the spider's web of steel supports, pulling at access panels to look. "Yeah, an hour should do it."

Garrus turned to Ashley and the others. "Let's get ready to move that thing. Ashley, can you sight where those shuttles are from here?"

Ashley nodded and handed her makeshift pry bar to Garrus. She turned and jogged towards the general direction they had seen the ships previously. Checking the directions with her omnitool, she swept it back and fourth a couple of times until the unit beeped at her. "There. But it looks like we've got a lot of debris in our way."

Her second companion, an older, stout gentleman, stepped up next to her and looked in the direction she was pointing. "Looks like that beam is holding up that wall of a building. Maybe if we had some way of bringing it down, it would open up?"

She frowned, looking at him. "I don't know if we have anything."

"There's that military vehicle down there, what about one of its projectiles?"

This actually made sense, and she paused to perk her eyebrow at the concept. "It's worth a look."

They made their way down to the MAKO where the little girl had first met them, what seemed like days ago. Crawling back inside the vehicle, she forced open the main cannon's ammunition storage bin, finding only one shell left. She stuck her head out, hefting the heavy slug, and looked down at the man. "We've got one shot at this…what's your name anyway?"

"Henry. Henry Jones."

"Alright, Henry Jones, it's your idea, let's go make it work."

It took more than an hour to rig the shell in place, with Ashley checking and rechecking her omnitool to verify that they had it in the best position. Once she was satisfied, she leaned down and removed the bottom plate to reveal the small plate that acted as a primer for the arming fuse. She peeled away this plate, to reveal circuitry wired to a coil of antenna filament.

"Looks like we're lucky and the warhead's computer is intact. I should be able to activate it with my omnitool, but I have no idea how stable it is. Get back to the security station."

"I'm not going. If we learned anything from the war it's to stick together. Now do what you have to do, young lady, and we can get out of here."

Ashley smiled, then called up the glowing holographic interface of the tool. Tapping a few controls, she linked into the warhead's timed detonation system and scanned it for signs of instability. Satisfied she could trust the detonator, she programmed it and took in a breath. "Alright. Now we arm it and get the hell away from here."

Henry smirked. "You don't have to tell me twice."

She tapped a final instruction and the display turned from a neutral yellow to green, a countdown appearing in the center of a rotating green timer indicator. "Alright, go."

They both skidded down the pile of rubble away from where they had planted the warhead, making their way up the block and back towards the security station as fast as they could make it. Though not exceptionally powerful, Ashley knew the shell could destabilize any number of other ruins with the shockwave when it blew, especially with the support column and partial wall acting as a perfect reflector to focus the blast.

They had just made it to the corner of the security station when the warhead blew. The sudden shock through the air rippled around them like being hit by a blast of wind, followed by the deep rumble as concrete cracked and crumbled, a cacophony of shrieks adding their weight as steel reinforcing materials tore and bent away from their moorings.

A wall of dust welled up and boiled over them as the pieces and parts of two more buildings joined in the collapse. Ashley pulled Henry to the side, coughing and wheezing as the dust infiltrated her lungs. Henry pulled her along to the door, covering his mouth with his shirt, and pushed her inside ahead of him, sealing the door.

Once inside, the relatively clean air of the station began to help settle the coughing fits for both of them. They made their way down the hall, following Garrus' voice. "Do you think the dust is going to be a problem?"

"No, we've got the antenna repositioned, and it should broadcast on a frequency the dust won't hinder."

"Alright, let's give it a shot."

They stepped inside, Ashley wiping away the snot that had begun to run from her nose to cleanse it of the foreign material, and gave them the thumb's up. Garrus keyed up the console and began typing in commands, working through the startup sequence.

Leaning over his shoulder, Jake pointed to a line in the code sequence that had begun to spool past Garrus's eyes on the display. "Now don't forget, we're going to have to remodulate the pulse frequency so it's not trying to send fragments based on a rotational time period."

Garrus nodded and adjusted the sequence, then keyed in the final startup entry. The display's simulated lights showing the status of the relay all changed from red to green as the errors cleared. Even as they did so, speakers set around the console came to life with the chatter of Alliance pilots.

Ashley turned to Henry and hugged him. "You guys are getting out of here. Go get everyone and tell them we're meeting up here. Garrus, get a signal out. I don't want to make these people wait any longer than they already have."

Garrus nodded and keyed the transmit button. "Alliance Search and Rescue, this is Garrus Vakarian of the SSV Normandy. I'm stuck at the following grid coordinates with Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams and over 20 civilians, some severely injured. We need immediate evac and medical help."

The speakers were strangely quiet for a moment, then one pilot responded, "Garrus Vakarian? Thank God. The Admiral will be happy to hear you're alive sir. Transmit your coordinates and we'll be there."

He keyed in the information and transmitted, then replied, "We've rigged up a unidirectional transmitter beam. Follow it in and you'll find us. You can't miss it."

The rescued civilians cheered as the shuttles touched down, doors flinging open and white-uniformed medics and support personnel streaming out as soon as they touched down. The most severely injured were loaded onto medical shuttles which promptly took off to evacuate them. The rest were checked over, given food rations and water, and then loaded into the remainder.

The lead shuttle, which had landed away from the others, finally opened its doors, revealing Admiral Hackett with his hands on his hips. He stepped out, flanked by two marines, and marched over to Garrus and Ashley. "Williams, Vakarian, you don't know just how good it is to see you. We've been all over the beam sight trying to locate you, and there are a lot of concerned people anxious to hear whether you pulled through or not."

Ashley snapped a salute, wincing slightly as her actions caused her to stretch and break the thin scab that had formed, allowing fresh blood to ooze down her leg. Garrus eyed her, then called out to a nearby medic, who jogged over and looked with disapproval at the leg wound. Garrus then turned his eyes to Hackett and folded his arms. "I'm sure the Turian government is falling all over themselves to hold up the hero that told them all this was coming, now that we've beaten the Reapers."

Hackett nodded. "I won't lie to one of Commander Shepard's best friends. You and everyone on the Normandy were key to this victory, and it's going to be a long time before any of them will allow you to forget that. Even more importantly, though, you've got a friend who's going to want to see you when he wakes up."

Ashley gasped, her head snapping to look at Hackett. "Shepard? He's alive? We saw the citadel blow in orbit just after the Crucible fired…"

"He's incredibly resilient, Lieutenant Commander, though he is badly hurt. They've got him in intensive care right now."

Garrus looked over at Ashley. "Hmph. Seems like déjà vu, eh, Ashley?"

She snorted, thinking back to her own time in a trauma ward, Shepard sitting next to her bed and reading Tennyson to her every chance he had to return to the Citadel. "When can I see him, Admiral?"

"Dr. Michel says it'll take at least a couple of months to repair the physical damage to his body that the blast caused, but she's optimistic that he'll pull through."

Ashely glanced at Garrus, remembering overhearing him mentioning Dr. Chloe Michel giving him chocolates, and the apparent lack of understanding he had shown at just what the gesture meant. "Well, at least you'll get to see Dr. Michel again."

Hackett nodded. "I want you two on this shuttle. The Galactic Alliance has set up temporary headquarters in the Himalayan research facility. It's the one facility that seems to have survived the war intact, so we're using it as a hospital and base of operations as we conduct recovery operations. The Geth and the Quarians are both pitching in to help us modify it to better suit a seat of galactic government."

They looked at each other, then nodded. "Then we'll be working together permanently, sir?" Ashley asked. Though she hadn't said _the aliens_, her implication was plain.

"Well, I think that the galaxy is took weak not to work together." Garrus said, punching Ashley's arm.

"Yeah. If this war showed me anything, it's that we can't survive forever unless we bury our differences."

Hackett nodded. "If only it hadn't taken the near extinction of all of our civilizations to figure that one out, Williams. Now, let's get you back to the base."

They stepped on and sealed the door behind them, sitting down in the jump seats beside the Marine detail that had come with Hackett. The pilot worked through the launch sequence, spooling up the engines, and nodded when Hackett gave him the word to launch.

All of the remaining shuttles rose together, lifting away from the ruins of the city into a clear blue sky. Looking down from one of the shuttle's windows, she could make out the lone tree that stood in the center of so much, like a beacon. Garrus squeezed her shoulder, and she placed her hand over his.


End file.
